Page 10 of Ice Me Baby

Taz does an overly dramatic shoulder shimmy and calls, “Come on. You don’t have to be good at it to have fun.”

I snort as I make my way to the kitchen area. “I’m still going to pass.”

Vicy hops down from the table with a shrug. “Well, guess that leaves us to question you like crazy and eat.”

I smirk. “I thought you guys questioned me already. You bugged me all week while I was trying to work.”

“Lies,” Taz says as he hops down and heads to the living room. He drops down onto the floor and gestures to the couch. “Sit. Sit. Time for questions!”

I look at him then turn back to the kitchen to admire the spread of food. As I look back at him, I point over my shoulder with an exaggerated pout. “But… food.”

He grins. “One of the guys can bring you food. Sit. Sit.”

I can get my own food, though, I don’t need them to get it for me. Oli steps up beside me with a soft smile. “I’ll bring you something to eat. I think Taz may bust a gut if he doesn’t get to ask his questions.”

“You sure?”

He nods, pushing me in the direction of the couch. “We have burgers or brats.”

“Um… brat, please.”

He nods. “Chips?”

“Sure. What do you have?”

He chuckles. “If you name it, we most certainly have it.”

“Doritos?” I ask as I take a seat on the couch.

He nods again. “I’ll get everything, and I’ll bring the toppings over for you to pick what you want on it.”

“Don’t bother. I don’t like toppings.”

He looks over his shoulder with an arched brow. “No toppings?”

I shake my head. “I like a raw dog.” I slap a hand over my mouth and feel my face burn red.What the fuck did I just say? Why the fuck would I say that? Oh my god, kill me now!

His eyes widen for a moment before he bursts into laughter and turns to head to the kitchen. “One raw dog coming up.”

Embarrassment has me burying my face in my hands. After a moment, I feel the couch dip beside me, and I peek between my fingers to see who it is. Vicy greets me with a wide grin.

“I like you. You’re funnier than our previous therapist,” he snickers.

I groan, my hands still covering my face. My words come out muffled when I say, “This is such a bad first impression.Although, I suppose it's technically my second impression. Ugh! Either way, it’s a bad impression.”

“On the contrary; this is an amazing impression,” Perri says from his spot on the chair next to the couch.

I peek through my fingers, looking at him as I ask, “How so?”

Merc speaks up. “The older guys”—he points to the four men who live outside of this house— “have learned to filter our words and watch what we say around women in the hockey industry. A lot of women are switching to this industry, which is great, but it means that what we say is often thought of as inappropriate.”

Fenni builds off of Merc’s thoughts. “We don’t always mean for what we say to sound vulgar, it’s just often how it comes out. The youngest ones here often have trouble with their filter. Which can cause issues, especially because our previous athletic therapist was male and, now, we have a female.”

“The things we used to joke about when getting stretched or taped by our therapist were all in good fun, but they could come across as inappropriate if we said them to you,” Gilly says with a sigh.

“Basically, these fuckers are saying that your mind appears to be as dirty as theirs,” Lewi says, his voice ringing out behind me. I jump at the sound of his voice, not having noticed he was here. He has avoided talking to me all week, and now he chooses to say something?

I watch him make his way around the couch and take a seat on the floor next to my legs.Interesting spot choice.Oli clears his throat behind me, and when I turn, he hands me a plate piled high with food.

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